Project GULF
by Lady Creepypasta
Summary: When GUN seized Shadow after he had crash-landed on Earth, their attempts at using him as their weapon failed. Instead, they resorted to creating their own Ultimate Life Form known as Project: GULF. However, to give the project life they used some Dark Matter which was connected to the Black Comet. Little did they know how unstable this substance was... *Mephiles' Alternate Story*
1. Chapter 1: Cloning Project Shadow

_**Project GULF**_

 **~Chapter 1: Cloning Project Shadow~**

A capsule had crashed onto the surface of the Earth, the glass cracking. Instantly a black hedgehog kicked and shattered the glass, leaping out of the capsule. "Maria!" he yelled, staring up at the sky. At first his expression was full of anger and determination, but then suddenly he switched to being depressed and grief-stricken. The hedgehog fell to his knees, realising that there was nothing he could do for his friend. She was dead.

 _"Sayonara... Shadow the Hedgehog..."_

Shadow glared at the ground as he remembered Maria's final words, smashing his fist into the dirt with hate. "Damn..." he rasped. "Damn them humans! THEY WILL PAY!"

His bellow seemed to have been heard as a group of soldiers jumped out of the bushes, aiming their rifles at him.

"Shadow the Hedgehog, you are to come with us for threatening the planet's safety!" one soldier yelled at him, earning a confused yet psychotic glare from Shadow.

"Threatening the planet's safety?" he questioned darkly. "The only threat was you humans!" The hedgehog dashed towards the group of soldiers, only to be shot multiple times. He stopped in his tracks, but noticed that he hadn't been shot with bullets. Instead, he had been shot with tranquilizers. Shadow could feel the soldiers grab him by the arms as everything blurred out, eventually fading into darkness.

 _..._

 _1 Month Later..._

"Sir, what can we do with him?" a soldier asked the Commander.

"He won't co-operate with us..." the Commander confirmed, turning to face the soldier. "Keep him sealed away for now. We have enough data from him to create our own Ultimate Life Form."

"Our own, sir?" the soldier queried.

The Commander nodded. "Our researchers will develop the project. It may take years to get a perfect result, or even just a result in general."

The soldier seemed unsure of the idea, but it was unwise to go against the Commander's words. He simply nodded to respond to his statement. "Right, sir."

"You are dismissed for now, agent," the Commander stated. The soldier saluted and left the room.

The Commander headed to the research lab, gaining the attention of the scientists within. "Attention all. Project Shadow is worth no more focus. Your new focus is to recreate Shadow using the data you have gathered," he began. "Begin the new project: Project GULF."

 _..._

 _20 years later..._

After years of planning and years of failure, the GUN researchers had finally come up with a solution to the problem.

"Sir! We have discovered a substance which we believe may have come from the Black Comet 20 years ago!" a researcher announced to the Commander.

Immediately the Commander was listening. "Substance?" he questioned.

"Yes," answered the researcher. "Currently we have simply labelled it as Dark Matter. However, we believe that it has the right properties to form Artificial Life!"

"So you are saying that this substance could solve our problem with creating the new Ultimate Life Form?" the Commander assumed.

"Affirmitive, sir," the researched responded.

"Then there is no time to waste!" the Commander finalized. "We can finally finish this project!"

 _..._

The researchers had once again created a base for the creature's body. Now they were adding the finishing touches, but the process seemed more dangerous than ever before.

"Sir, the system is malfunctioning!" one researcher yelped, panicking as he tried to work at his control panel. Alarms bleeped and lights flickered strangely.

"This won't work!" another researcher admitted.

"We can't give up! We've come this far!" the Commander snapped, though deep down he was also wary of the situation at hand.

"We have to take cover! The system's gonna blow!" a third researcher warned, running to take cover. The other researchers either hid behind their control desks or ran as far away as they could. Suddenly, the capsule, along with other equipment attached to it, exploded, the Commander managing to take cover at the last minute. Smoke and debris filled the room.

After a few minutes the Commander and a few of the researchers decided to get up, coughing. the Commander noticed a figure standing in the smoke, squinting his eyes to try and get a better look.

When the smoke had cleared, there stood a slouched anthropomorphic hedgehog, looking practically the same as Shadow. However, his muzzle was pale and it was clear that he lacked a mouth. His appearance was a little more drab than Shadow's, with dull green-blue stripes and grey inhibitor rings. As for his eyes, they were much like a reptile's eyes, coloured lime green with slit pupils.

The hedgehog stared at the Commander with his tilted head, as still as a corpse. The Commander seemed to be waiting for him to say something, but the hedgehog remained silent.

Eventually the Commander cleared his throat, standing tall. "Project G-U-L-F: GUN's Ultimate Life Form," he addressed. "I am Commander West, current leader of the Guardian Unit of Nations."

There was no response from the dark hedgehog. He just stood there, staring. Awkwardly, the Commander found a way to continue talking.

"I see that your lack of a mouth hinders your ability to speak," he acknowledged.

"...No," spoke a low, deep voice. It sounded like it had come from the hedgehog.

The Commander raised an eyebrow, slightly surprised. "...Come again?" he requested.

"...I can speak despite my lack of a mouth," the hedgehog answered.

"I see..." was all the Commander could say, looking at the hedgehog oddly. The hedgehog spoke no more words.

As if to end the awkward silence, a young girl ran into the room. "Father!" she cried, running over to the Commander. The Commander turned to face her, almost looking worried.

"Cynthia, you should not be here," he told her, kneeling down to her level since she was only a young child. "This is no place for children."

"B-But father, the power went out and I-I was scared..." the child, Cynthia, explained shakily.

The Commander understood that the amount of power used to create project GULF must have caused power cuts in certain areas of the base. "I guess we'll have to reboot the power system..." he said to himself, standing up. He then turned to face the artificial hedgehog. "I want you to go and train yourself in the obstacle course. You'll find it if you look at the maps located around the base."

In response, the hedgehog simply nodded, walking out of the room, seemingly in no rush. The Commander then turned to the researchers. "Get to work and re-activating all power systems," he commanded.

"Yes, sir," a few researchers saluted, getting straight on with working to restart the power.

"Oh, and one more thing," the Commander started. "That Ultimate Life Form. Does he have a code name of some sort?"

"Yes, sir," one head researcher replied. "His code name is a word associated with the Black Comet."

"And what is it?" the Commander asked.

"Mephiles, sir," the researcher answered.

 **~End of Chapter~**


	2. Chapter 2: GUN's Ultimate Life Form

**~Chapter 2: GUN's Ultimate Life Form~**

Mephiles was in the process of training in the obstacle course when the Commander's daughter stood by and observed curiously. He stopped his training and turned his head slightly so that he was glancing back at her.

"I would prefer to train alone," he said to her, sounding irritated.

"I'm only watching," Cynthia responded, indirectly refusing to leave.

The hedgehog turned completely to face her. "Didn't your father tell you to go elsewhere?" he asked her.

"He's busy and I was by myself," Cynthia excused. "I don't like being alone."

"Well, you need to get used it," Mephiles told her plainly, turning back around. "Now if you don't mind, I need to complete my training."

As Mephiles proceeded with his training, Cynthia remained where she was and watched him. Mephiles glanced at her from the corner of his eye and grunted, deciding to just finish the training. Once he was done he headed out of the training room, staring at Cynthia as he left. Cynthia watched him leave, deciding to follow him seconds later.

Almost instantly Mephiles noticed her, stopping and turning around, looking quite annoyed. "Don't follow me," he ordered.

"Why not?" Cynthia asked him. "You don't have anywhere to go yet. No bedroom, no quiet area... You don't even know your way around this place!"

"You're not being my tour guide," Mephiles told her before she got any ideas. But Cynthia grabbed his hand.

"Come on!" she giggled, running with him. Unwillingly Mephiles followed, feeling the urge to just throw this human child into the wall.

...

Commander West was calculating Mephiles' results from the training course, having observed him via a camera. That was when he was approached by a familiar rookie soldier, Abraham Tower.

"Sir," Tower began nervously. "Are you sure that Project GULF is... safe?"

The Commander turned to face him. "Of course he is," he answered confidently. He didn't use a harsh tone on Tower since he was aware of his past aboard the ARK. Tower had been raised in the base after the ARK invasion twenty years ago, suffering from PTSD. He held a grudge towards Shadow, blaming him for the death of his loved ones aboard the ARK along with various others. The Commander understood that his hatred and fear of Shadow is what made him so cautious about Mephiles.

"How can you be certain?" Tower asked, sounding worried. "The substance he was created from originates from the Black Comet... He's probably much worse than Shadow...!"

"If he proves himself to be a threat, then we'll deal with him appropriately," the Commander planned in order to ease the young soldier. "Here on Prison Island we have the correct facilities for dealing with sudden threats."

Tower looked unsure, but let out a sigh of defeat. "If you say so, sir..." he replied quietly.

The Commander turned back around so that his back was facing Tower. "Now return to your duty, soldier. There are other priorities to be focusing on right now," he finalised.

"Yes, sir," Tower saluted before leaving the room hesitantly.

The Commander watched multiple CCTV footage on the large screen in front of him, standing in deep thought. He was then snapped out of his thoughts when he caught sight of Cynthia showing Mephiles around on one of the cameras. At first he was worried, but then calmed himself down. Mephiles was by no means a threat to anybody.

...

"Are we done yet?" Mephiles asked impatiently.

"Almost!" Cynthia chirped as she skipped along through the corridors. Mephiles practically dragged himself after her. He had decided that if he went along with her "tour" quickly then he'd be able to get it over with.

Cynthia ran into the command room, exactly where he father was. He turned to face her, not at all surprised that she had showed up.

Mephiles walked in a few moments later, glancing up at the Commander. His expression went from dark to guilty, recognising the Commander as his sole creator.

"Hello there, Cynthia, Mephiles," the Commander greeted, nodding to them. Mephiles silently nodded back.

Cynthia beamed happily. "Hello, father!" she chirped.

"I see that you're getting along with Mephiles," the Commander acknowledged. Mephiles did his best to frown at that statement; he really just wanted to be alone.

"I was just showing him around!" Cynthia told her father proudly, grinning.

The Commander smiled, glad that he had a daughter who was so confident. She was so much like her mother...

But then the alarm went off suddenly, causing all three of them to look at the large screen.

"Sir! There's a terrorist attack in Westopolis!" one soldier announced.

"Prepare all units," the Commander instructed. "We don't tolerate terrorism in our nation." The middle-aged man then turned to face Mephiles and Cynthia. "Mephiles, I'm not sure if you're ready for something like this yet, but if you're willing to go then you can go."

Mephiles almost instantly chose his answer, figuring that he'd probably have to babysit Cynthia if he backed out. "I'll go."

The Commander nodded, respecting his decision. "There's a helicopter outside for one of our units. You'll see it once you get outside," he directed. "Board that helicopter and stick with that unit. Understood?"

"Understood," Mephiles nodded, his voice low and quiet. He ran out of the room calmly.

Cynthia watched him leave, then turning to look up at her father. She noticed that he was focused on the screen again so that he could direct the units of soldiers, so she decided to head out to her room.

...

Mephiles was on board the helicopter, staring down at his feet. The other soldiers seemed to act awkward around him and were silent most of the time. When they did speak Mephiles didn't attempt to engage in the conversation, nor did he listen in to what they were saying.

For the whole flight Mephiles remained in the same position, only perking up when the helicopter had landed. He unbuckled himself and climbed out of the helicopter, standing with his unit. However, he turned his attention quickly to the riot going on in the streets. No longer interested in staying with his group, he dashed over to the scene.

"Mephiles!" one of the soldiers called.

Mephiles seemed to ignore the soldiers as they called for him, leaping up and roundhouse kicking one of the terrorists in the head. The terrorist was knocked down, but glared at Mephiles, eyes barely visible since he hid his face behind a bandana. Mephiles stared down at him, watching as he got up and pointed his gun at him, aiming for his head.

"What a joke," he growled. "Are the government really recruiting hedgehogs now?"

"More than just ordinary hedgehogs," Mephiles corrected with his usual calm tone of voice. He raised his hand slightly, a purple ball of dark energy beginning to form.

"W-What are you doing?!" the man who had threatened Mephiles questioned, sounding worried and afraid as he stepped back slightly. Mephiles looked as if he would be smiling right now, amused at the man's fear.

"I am returning to you what you gave to many people in this area," the hedgehog answered as the ball of energy grew larger. Then, without warning, Mephiles fired the ball at the man, inducing a large explosion.

Mephiles' unit, along with various other units, civillians and terrorists, witnessed Mephiles' attack. It was a bizarre blast which could not be compared to any others. Many seemed to simply stare in shock, unsure how to react.

Slowly Mephiles lowered his hand, staring down at the corpse of the man. He didn't appear to be bothered, but he was actually surprised himself; he didn't know that he had _that much_ power.

Tower stared at Mephiles with wide eyes, standing with another unit. His unit decided to continue bringing down the terrorists once they had snapped out of their state of shock, but Tower remained frozen. He watched as Mephiles went back to attacking some of the other terrorists, striking most of them with regular attacks.

Suddenly, a terrorist had snuck up behind Tower and stabbed him in the back. Tower grunted in pain, collapsing onto his knees and holding his wound, which luckily wasn't as fatal as it could have been. However, it did hurt. Tower looked up and met the terrorist's eyes.

Before the attacker could do anything, he was struck down unexpectedly by Mephiles. Mephiles landed on his two feet once he had taken the terrorist down, glancing back at Tower. Tower stared in complete horror, still afraid of Mephiles. The dark hedgehog didn't attempt to help with Tower's injury as he continued with his solo assault.

...

The Commander had witnessed Mephiles' actions, trying to hide his look of surprise.

 _"Sir, Mephiles has taken down most of the terrorists single-handedly,"_ a soldier told the Commander via a communicator.

The Commander paused before responding. "As long as the city is safe, then his actions will be praised," he said to the soldier. "But I think he needs to get used to his powers before doing anything like this again."

 _"Should we return to base, sir?"_ the soldier asked.

"Yes," the Commander answered. "Leave the rest up to the police. Any fatalities?"

 _"Affirmitive, sir,"_ the soldier answered. _"No exact number yet, but so far we have counted twenty fatalities, but there are certainly more."_

"Damn..." the Commander growled. "As for casualties?"

 _"Over thirty,"_ the soldier assured.

"Right. I shall prepare the medical sector for the arriving soldiers who have been wounded," the Commander assured, hanging up from the call. He sent for one of the other soldiers to pass the word on to the medics.

 **~End of Chapter~**


	3. Chapter 3: The Mysterious Voice

**~Chapter 3: The Mysterious Voice~**

Mephiles had returned with the other soldiers, helping to carry one of the stretchers. He was thinking about his power from earlier. He wasn't aware that he had power like that, nor was he sure that he could even wield that kind of power safely, even if it did give him the advantage during the previous fight.

"Mephiles," the Commander greeted him sternly, walking up to him formally. "You did well out there."

The dark hedgehog just stared up at him, not knowing the correct way to respond. He seemed to dismiss the compliment as he nodded to a fellow soldier, signalling for him to carry the stretcher which he had seemingly abandoned. Mephiles then gazed back up at the Commander silently as he decided to continue speaking.

"I noticed earlier that you unleashed a new kind of power," he said to him. "Nothing like anything we've ever seen before."

Surprised, Mephiles' ears perked slightly. He then calmed himself, certain that the Commander was impressed by his power. After all, he was created to be the Ultimate Life Form.

...Or the second one, at least.

"Would you care to explain this power?" the Commander continued, sounding rather curious. Of course, Mephiles' certainty seemed to lower as he picked up a concerned tone in his creator's voice.

"...I acted according to my instincts," Mephiles explained. "I myself was unaware of this power of mine."

"I see," the Commander noted, looking as if he was deeply in thought. He then shook his head quickly yet briefly. "I think for now you should take time to learn of your... true power. You are dismissed." With that said, the Commander strolled off to see to the injured soldiers. Mephiles stood there with confusion before wandering through the base corridors.

As he walked, Mephiles began to think deeply himself. His power was almost worrying, for he could feel much more coursing through his veins. Just how powerful was he?

The more he thought about his power and how much destruction it could cause, Mephiles began to envision some black creatures. Confused, he attempted to shake off the imagery, but the thoughts connected to his power always led to him thinking of these same creatures.

 _"Mephiles..."_ a dark voice spoke in Mephiles' mind. Mephiles' eyes widened before he was suddenly shoved in the back. Startled, he turned around, looking ready to attack. His ears drooped with frustration when he saw that it was Cynthia, who had playfully pushed him.

"Hello again!" she greeted him heartily, beaming.

"Hello, human child," Mephiles grunted. His grumpiness caused Cynthia to giggle.

"You're so grouchy!" she pointed out.

"And you're so annoying," Mephiles mumbled, partially wishing that she had heard him.

"Wanna go outside? The jungle on this island is really cool!" Cynthia offered.

"I would much rather stay here," Mephiles answered honestly.

"Pleeeeeaaaasssee?" Cynthia pleaded, pouting. Mephiles could feel one of his eyes twitching despite his lack of eyelids, but he let out an irritated sigh of defeat.

"Very well, but only for twenty minutes or less," he told her. Cynthia cheered and ran for the base's exit, followed by the unwilling hedgehog.

As the child ran outside happily, Mephiles merely walked after her, his distance from her rather great. "Come on, slow coach!" Cynthia taunted, laughing as she skipped ahead, earning a grunt from the hedgehog.

"Be careful what you say," he warned quietly, though really he knew his threats were meaningless. After all, if he harmed her in any way then he'd probably have to face some serious consequences.

Cynthia had soon vanished from Mephiles' sight. He assumed that she had run ahead or hidden, so he proceeded to amble calmly. The surrounding wildlife was actually captivating him. It was... beautiful.

While Mephiles praised the silence and the beauty of the environment around him, he had completely forgotten about the young girl. The moment he remembered that he was supposed to be watching her was the moment he heard a shriek of evident fear.

"Mephiles!" he heard, his ears perking up. It was Cynthia. For a moment Mephiles had a look of worry, his eyes widening ever so slightly, before his concern turned into frustration.

"That stupid girl..." he growled, running ahead as he followed the direction of the shrieking.

It became clear that Mephiles was approaching a river. He looked both left and right to see if he could spot Cynthia in the water or clutching onto something for dear life, but he saw nothing. So he decided to stand there with his ears standing tall, listening carefully. That's when he heard another cry of distress.

"Mephiles! Help me!"

Mephiles' right ear twitched as he darted in that direction. His eyelidless eyes watched for any sign off the red-headed girl, but saw nothing just yet. Eventually the dark hedgehog skidded to a halt when he noticed a tree which had at some point fallen over the river with a bridge-like appearance, and to it he saw Cynthia clinging desperately. Her dainty but filthy hands were slipping as she scrambled to not fall into the fast flow of the river below.

Letting out a grunt, the new Ultimate Life Form stepped over to the fallen tree, watching as Cynthia hung from it in an attempt to climb back on and not fall into the water where she would certainly drown.

"You shouldn't have run away like that," he told her, sounding quite calm.

"I'm sorry! I'm sorry!" Cynthia cried as she clawed at the damp wood. "Please help me!"

For a second Mephiles stared at her, but then carefully took a few steps onto the tree trunk, almost losing his balance a few times. Once he was confident, he knelt down and held out his hand. "Grab my hand," he instructed, still with his calm and low tone of voice.

Desperately, Cynthia let go of the tree trunk with one hand, swatting it frantically in order to grab Mephiles'hand. However, neither of the two managed to grab a hold of the other, ultimately resulting in Cynthia's other hand losing grip. She let out a wail of fear as she fell into the raging water below her.

Once again Mephiles' eyes managed to widen, now looking more concerned than before. The current had instantly dragged Cynthia underneath already. Mephiles stared at the water for a while, trying to think of what to do, but due to his time limit, he acted on his instinct and dived into the water.

The dull-coloured hedgehog was pulled along by the current as he tried to see ahead of him, managing to make out a human figure. He swam towards it as the water dragged him in that direction, reaching his arm out so that he could grab Cynthia. Mephiles noticed that Cynthia was unconscious as she was not thrashing or attempting to survive at all, and when he had the chance, he grabbed her by her shirt and held onto her. Now all he had to do was get out of the river.

Mephiles used his free hand, searching for something to grip onto. He reached his hand out from under the water and felt the damp mud belonging to the safe surface. As quickly as he could he dug his fingers into the dirt, pulling himself up along with Cynthia.

Flopping down on his front, Mephiles breathed heavily as he held Cynthia. Once regaining his breath, he noticed that she was bleeding and bruised due to being bashed about into the sharp rocks. Mephiles also noticed that she must have swallowed some water, leading him to perform what he new of CPR. After pressing on her chest a few times, Cynthia coughed and spluttered out some water, sitting up as she choked. Luckily she managed to get the liquid out of her system, wiping her mouth as she winced in pain.

"Ow..." she whimpered, looking like she was about to cry. Mephiles stared at her silently, waiting to see how else she would react to her situation. The young girl looked at him as tears welled up in her eyes, though she had an expression of relief. "Thank you..." she wavered as the tears left her eyes.

"You're injured," Mephiles responded, picking her up. "I knew that this was not a good idea. You're a fool."

"I'm sorry," Cynthia apologized as she rubbed her eyes. Mephiles seemed to blank her out as he made his way back to base.

...

The Commander had finished doing what he could for the wounded soldiers, noticing Mephiles as he arrived back. Immediately his face filled with shock and worry. "What happened?!" he asked, panicking as he ran over.

"She fell into a river," Mephiles answered simply.

"How long was she under for?" the Commander asked as he shakily took his daughter out of Mephiles' arms.

"Not long," Mephiles replied. "Though she has sustained multiple injuries, some possibly being internal.

"I'll take her to the medical ward," the Commander planned as he paced out of the room, followed by Mephiles. "I want you to stay with her once she's been comfirmed to be in a stable condition. Supply her with what she needs, alright?"

In response, Mephiles nodded once as he and the Commander reached the medical ward. As he stood and watched as the medics and the Commander saw too Cynthia's injuries, he noticed Tower in one of the beds close to him. Tower had his gaze fixed upon Mephiles, looking rather fearful. Mephiles turned his head to stare back at him, not understanding why Tower had an expression of terror. After all, it was Mephiles who saved his life during the terrorist attack earlier on.

The Commander then approached Mephiles, breaking the stare-off between the hedgehog and the rookie. "Stay with her," he repeated to him quietly as he left the room to attend other business. Mephiles watched him leave, then looking over at the shaken-up girl, then trudging towards her bed, sitting on a chair by her bedside. Cynthia turned her head, tear stains on her red cheeks.

"I assume your injuries have been treated?" Mephiles asked her eventually.

"Yes..." Cynthia answered weakly, looking like she wanted to fall asleep.

"...Sleep if you must," Mephiles said to her, noticing her tiredness.

"But..." Cynthia protested.

"No buts," Mephiles interrupted her excuse. Cynthia fell silent, and within minutes, she had given into her body's needs, closing her eyes and falling asleep.

Mephiles stared at her sleeping form, beginning to daydream before that same voice fromm earlier entered his mind.

 _"Mephiles,"_ it said, much like how it did earlier. _"Don't let them treat you like their pet."_

The hedgehog frowned at the voice, looking around in confusion. A few of the injured soldiers - including Tower - noticed his odd behaviour as he looked around the room.

 _"You aren't meant to be with them, Mephiles,"_ the voice continued. _"You are not a human. One day they will do to you what they did to your original."_

"Original...?" Mephiles asked himself quietly, now seeing that more soldiers were giving him odd looks. He decided to avoid speaking, though his thoughts wandered through various tunnels of confusion. Was there another Ultimate Life Form... before him?

The voice seemed to fall silent once again. For a final time Mephiles glanced around the room, but only saw the soldiers giving him odd looks. He then decided to stare into his lap as he let his thoughts travel through his mind.

...

As night consumed that day, Mephiles curled up like a cat at the end of Cynthia's bed, wearing an eye-mask to cover his eyes due to his lack of eyelids.

Tower decided to get up, forcing himself out of bed. He couldn't stand being in the same room as that... creature. He was certain that Mephiles was only going to cause trouble. The wounded agent staggered out of the medical ward and returned to the regular sleeping quarters, lying down in his bed. He looked at a photograph of him aboard the ARK when he was a child, standing beside his only friend, Maria Robotnik.

"Oh Maria... What do I do...?" he asked the photograph quietly. "They've created a clone of that... _monster_... It's a clone of the creature which killed you..." Tower stared at the photo silently for a moment before letting out a sigh, putting the picture away. He then pulled the duvet over himself, his eyes staring into nothingness for a few minutes before he finally fell asleep.

 **~End of Chapter~**


	4. Chapter 4: Growing Power

**~Chapter 4: Growing Power~**

 _Floating in the emptiness of space. That's where Mephiles found himself. He stared downwards at the endless drop beneath him before looking behind and around himself silently._

 _"Greetings, Mephiles," came a familiar voice. Mephiles looked ahead of himself, seeing an intimidating alien-like creature staring down at him. The hedgehog was tempted to ask this being who he was, but instead he decided to keep silent._

 _"I will not be surprised if you do not know who I am or who you are," the alien spoke. Mephiles narrowed his eyes as best as he could._

 _"I'm no fool," he hissed. "I know exactly who I am. As for you, I don't think you're important."_

 _The alien creature seemed to chuckle lowly. "You really do not know anything, do you?" he asked the dark hedgehog. "If you knew yourself you would be bowing your head in a humble manner right now."_

 _"I bow to nobody," Mephiles growled._

 _"That will soon change," the alien assured. "I am the leader of the Black Arms: Black Doom."_

 _"And what does that mean to me?" Mephiles questioned cautiously._

 _"You are part of my army," the alien, Black Doom, revealed. Mephiles was silent for a moment, staring darkly at him._

 _"...You're incorrect," he replied after his pause. "I was artificially created by the humans."_

 _"Do you know what they used?" Black Doom asked him. Again, Mephiles paused. He had no idea what he was made from, leading Black Doom to explain for him._

 _"A black substance was discovered by the humans twenty years ago when the Black Comet passed by the planet Earth," he began. "The substance had come from the Black Comet and was known as "Mephiles", a thick black liquid which we use to forge our weapons with. However, the properties of the substance seemed to have proven good enough to provide you with life. They code-named you after the substance's name. Little did they know how much power you now possess with the combination of the Mephiles liquid and the abilities of your predecessor."_

 _"I've heard you mention this predecessor before," Mephiles stated. "Do explain."_

 _Black Doom would have smirked. "You'll find out about him in your own time," he confirmed. "But what you must know is this: Your power will grow and you will notice your connection with the Black Arms. But when you do... The humans will destroy you!"_

...

Mephiles tore off his eye-mask as he awakened, sitting up quickly. He panted from the stress before calming himself down and looking around. It was still dark and everyone was still asleep. The dark hedgehog shook his head and stood up, walking out of the ward.

Agent Tower had pretended to be asleep when Mephiles awakened, sitting up as soon as the hedgehog left the room. He stared at the exit which the hedgehog had left through, a suspicious look on his face.

...

Morning was quick to arrive the next day. Cynthia awakened slowly, stirring and rubbing her eyes as she scrunched up her face. She was feeling a little better due to having a good rest. The young girl sat up and opened her eyes, stretching. She scanned the room with her eyes, noticing that everyone else was awake. However, she caught no sight of Mephiles. Cynthia did not feel too concerned, assuming that Mephiles had probably gone off to train or talk to her father.

After a few minutes of letting her body wake up, Cynthia hopped out of bed. She was still injured from her recent incident, though this did not stop her from hobbling out of the ward. The red-headed girl would sometimes support herself against the wall or any other object which she came across in order to balance herself.

Cynthia managed to drag herself to her father's office, seeing him look over at her with a surprised expression.

"Cynthia, I didn't expect you to be up and walking so soon," he said to her. His daughter smiled.

"I'm feeling much better!" she replied happily. Commander West smiled.

"That's good to hear," he responded with relief. "But you should still rest."

"But father, I'm up now!" Cynthia whined. Her father sighed.

"Alright, but take it easy, okay?" he negotiated. "You don't need to add anymore injuries to yourself."

"Don't worry, father, I'll be careful!" Cynthia assured with a bright smile on her face. She then made her leave by staggering out of the office, heading to her own bedroom.

...

Mephiles was sat outside on a rock by himself. This GUN base was located within a snowy mountain range, isolated from civilization. The dark hedgehog did not mind the cold weather at all despite not wearing any form of clothing besides his shoes. In fact, the area outside the base was his favourite place to be. The howling wind was all that could be heard as it rustled the distant spruce trees. If he could Mephiles would have close his eyes and absorbed the soothing sounds as he thought, not wanting to be disturbed. Unfortunately, Mephiles' peace was indeed disturbed.

"Mephiles," came the voice of a soldier. "What are you doing out here? Agent Tower said he saw you leave the ward hours ago and nobody saw you since then. You raised much concern."

"My apologies," Mephiles apologized, standing up. "I will return inside to assure everyone that there is nothing to worry about." The hedgehog walked back through the doors which led into the base. The soldier entered seconds after Mephiles did, walking off in a different direction and leaving the hedgehog to it.

As Mephiles strolled through the base, he found himself in deep thought. He wasn't focusing on the nightmare he had, he was mainly thinking about his power. He could feel the power in his blood as it flowed around his body, waiting to be unleashed. The dark hedgehog held up his hands and stared at them as he walked, clenching them into tight fists. He could sense that the power within him was just going to grow stronger and stronger, and if he bottled it up for too long then it would all come out at once with a deadly and destructive result.

Mephiles shook his head and dropped his arms back to their sides. He didn't need to focus on the future right now; perhaps there was a way for him to prevent such a dark fate. If there was a possibility then he had to find it as soon as he could before it was too late, otherwise he would be seen as the enemy.

A short while passed as Mephiles dragged himself through the base with his head hung before he caught sight of Agent Tower. The young agent was staring at him while standing in one of base's passageways. As soon as Mephiles turned to face him Tower just walked off down the passageway, pretending that he wasn't staring at the hedgehog at all. Mephiles had a slight scowl, knowing that something was wrong with the agent. He wondered if the agent knew about his growing power or knew something about him that the other agents didn't.

What if Tower knew about the 'original' which Black Doom was talking about?

The possibilities seemed slim, so Mephiles discarded the thought and continued to walk. Once more he was disturbed when he heard yet another voice, this one being more familiar to him.

"Mephiles!" chirped the young voice which belonged to Cynthia. Mephiles stopped walking and grunted quietly yet lowly, his ears drooping in frustration as the girl limped over to him from behind. The dark hedgehog turned around to face her.

"Shouldn't you be in bed?" he questioned.

"I'm feeling a lot better now," Cynthia told him. "But father says I need to be careful in case I hurt myself even more."

"Go to bed," Mephiles instructed instantly. "I'm not babysitting you again."

Cynthia pouted. "But Mephiles, I'm getting bored by myself," she explained. "Father is busy working and I can't have the fun I usually have while I'm hurt."

Mephiles sighed, sounding incredibly irritated. "Very well. I will keep you company," he agreed apprehensively.

"Yay!" Cynthia cheered. Mephiles looked really unhappy as he proceeded with his slow walk, Cynthia now waddling by his side. He wasn't certain where exactly he was going, deciding to stop by the cafeteria. The hedgehog took a seat at the furthest empty table, Cynthia sitting on the seat opposite him.

"...Do you need some nutrients?" Mephiles asked her. "The other humans seem to be... eating."

Cynthia giggled. "You're funny," she pointed out before standing up slowly. "I'm gonna get myself some buttered toast and some milk. You wait right there!" The girl then walked off, careful not to bump into anyone or any of the tables and benches. Mephiles watched her leave, seeing this moment as an oppurtunity to think deeply to himself. He tapped the table with his four fingers as he thought, resting his head in his other hand as it was propped up on his elbow. The artificial hedgehog then looked around discreetly, observing the other soldiers who were sat eating their food. Some were actually staring at him and giving him odd looks while others seemed to be glancing over at him and talking about him. Mephiles frowned as much as he could before looking away, continuing to lose himself in his thoughts.

Minutes later Cynthia returned to the table and sat down with her tray. She instantly began to savagely tear into her toast and drink from her milk carton. Mephiles just watched as she did this, secretly jealous since he could not eat at all due to his lack of a mouth. Cynthia picked up on his jealousy upon seeing his expression and could only chuckle.

"I'm sorry," she apologized to him. "I guess you must get really hungry since you have no mouth."

"I do not feel hunger," Mephiles corrected. "Though I wish I did. Humans all seem to enjoy eating."

"That's true," Cynthia smiled as she took another bite out of her toast. "We do love to eat!"

Mephiles fell silent, no longer wanting to discuss the topic of food. it almost managed to make him hungry as he thought about it more and more.

After eating her toast and finishing off her milk, Cynthia went to dump all of her waste into the bin and return her tray before walking back over to Mephiles carefully.

"Where do you wanna go now?" she asked him.

Before Mephiles could answer, the intercom kicked in. Through the speaks came the voice of Commander West.

"Mephiles, come to my office ASAP," he instructed. "I wish to speak with you privately."

The dark hedgehog grunted and stood up, facing Cynthia. "You may go where you wish," he told her. "I need to speak with your father." And with that, the hedgehog ambled out of the cafeteria. Cynthia watched him leave, curious as to what her father could possibly be discussing with him.

...

Mephiles entered the office quietly once he had reached it. "You asked for me?" he said upon entering.

The Commander turned around. "Mephiles! There you are," he responded. "Come in and close the door; I need to speak to you about some tests."

"Tests?" Mephiles queried, his head tilting slightly.

"Yes," the Commander confirmed. "I discussed the tests with the researchers earlier. You see, none of us are able to clarify just how much power you have. By conducting a few tests involving your participation we may be able to learn more about your capabilities."

Mephiles was silent for a moment as he processed what the Commander said. "...What kind of tests are you speaking of?" he asked.

"Scans, blood tests, DNA analysis and demonstrations," the Commander specified.

The hedgehog had to think for a moment before nodding to him. "Very well. I will agree to take part in these tests," he announced.

The Commander smiled. "Good to hear," he responded. "Come to the research lab at eight A.M. tomorrow."

"I will do," Mephiles agreed before leaving the room.

 **~End of Chapter~**


End file.
